Improvement in stump and grub extractors



' the figures.

. UNITED STATESV PATENT-v OFFICE.

IYYAAK VAN KERSEN, OF KAIJVAMAZOO, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT `|N Aerols/il? AND GRUB Ex'TRAcg-rons.

Specification forming part'ot' Letters Patent No. 48,748, dated July 11,1865'.

To all whom lit may concern:

Beit-known that I, IZAAK VAN KERSEN,1u

. thetown andeounty ofKalamazoo,in the State ot' Michigan, have invented a new and useful ranged for extracting gru bs, 85e. Fig. 2 is a side .elevation of cart. Fig. 3 is .a` horizontal section in line Similar letters refer to like parts in all of AArepresent the sides of a stout carti'iame, resting on and attached -to au axle, ,B. There is only one girt, G, which is framed, so that when a detachable bottom rests on it said hottom will he flush on the upper side with A A. A lining-strip,0, is fastened on top of the axle in line with the girt, and a bolster, D, is fitted with stout pins or bolts onthe lining-strip, so that it can be readily' detached when it is required to putin the cart bottoni or flooring. The wheels on which this cart-frame is mounted are seen at E E, the pole or tongue at F,

and the single-tree-at H.

I will now proceed to describe it when arranged for extracting stumps orgrubs.

At the hind end of the cart-frame, and between the two sides A A, is inserted what I terma strut-lever;7 L, which is secured by a heavy round iron rod, a, which 4passes loosely through and through. 1 usually construct the Strut-lever of oak plank, the side pieces, S S, being just sufieiently apart atrthe top to admit a pulley-block between, and diverging at bottom to the width of the cart, where a footplank, j', is strongly framed on or otherwise attached.

A cross-bar, I, is lapped on and firmly sccured to each side S ot' the lever, which cross barprojeets from the inner edge of S rather .more than from the outer, and is sti'ened by angle-braces b b. The Ainner projecting ends of the cross-bars may be tapered to lighten them, and a cross-strip, f 2, is secured to each brace, close tothe endsot' the bars. 0n the outer projecting portion of these cross-bars I attach aplattorm, (markedf3,) and platethe outer edge with band-iron to resist abrasion vby the chain. A box to carry an ax or other tools may be'conveuiently formed on this platform by fastening an angle-board, J, to end brackets, j j. The notches n n, 85e., serve `to pay away the slack of the chains in when not in use. y A

TheV liftiugchainsc c c, &c., are fastened to a cross-girlz, g, near the head of the strutlever L, which is operated by a rope, R, rove through vpulleys in pulley-blocks marked Nos. 1, 2, and 3, as follows: The end of the rope is fastened to pulley-block No. 1, and the rope passes round the upper pulley in No. 2, back to and round pulley No. 1, thence underthe lower pulleyl in No. 2. and over pulley No. 3 at the end of the tongue, and to the horses or other draft-animals to which itis hitched.

L being in the position Ishown in Fig. l, and the machine run up against a grub or stump, and the chain or chains attached to tha-t and as many others as it is deemed judicious to pull atonee, thedraftanimals, which are hitched inthe ordinary way to a ring (notfseen) at the loose end of the rope R, in line'with the tongue, are started ahead. This pulls over the lever, which changes its fulcra successively from the outer to the innerside ot' the toot-plankf, and thence vto fz, by which time the chains have obtained a bearing on the banded edge of f3, and the stump or th'reeor -four grubs, whichever it may be, are torn entirely out, the lever being then nearly in a horizontal position, and the pulley-blocks Nos. 1 and 2 brought together. The horses are kept in motion until the grubs are drawn to the place ot' deposit,

the machine is drawn hack toits work and the operation continued. i

To .convert the grub-machine into a dray for hauling wood or logs to mill, take o" thetackles by pulling oft' the eyebolts e. e e. Then pull out thai-long rod a and remove the lever L. Theo'oring or bottom is made of planks secured by cleats m m m, which are arranged relatively with the bolster c and girt G, as may be clearly seen in Fig-3. This bottom is no'w lifted in its place and secured infront by slipping twostout iron pins, p p,ldriven into the The mode of operation is as follows: The lever when they are unloosed from the chains, and

9. @sans forward cleat, intoeorresponding holes, p2p, made in the gift G, which'keep it down to its place.

The hind end is supported and the bottom prevented moving back by inserting thelever-rodain the mannerindcated. Stakes being placed in the holes n` n, &c., a dray is readily produced in a few minutes time.

I will say here that I. omitted in describing the cart-frametos'tate that the sides A A are jointed by strong eyebolts and staples (see K) to the cart-axle to allow it to tilt, a spring-holt securing and liberating it when necessary.

The pulleys, besides their duty in vopera-ting the lever, are very'useful in loading logs on the dray. My arrangements to form a box on this dray and so convertit into a tilting-eartpropen,

to haul farm produce, stones, manure, Stow-is as follows: After removing the stakes'and the lever-rod A, I putin each side board,W, by first hooking the side hook, h, into the staple o., and

*then insert/the cleat-pins (see ,dotted lines) into thecor'responding holes, n ln,'&c. The hind end of the side boards a1 e secured by a projecting loop-strap, l, through which the rod a is inserted when replaced. ('Jleats are nailedelose to the ends fthe head and tail boards, which are. secured y dowel-pins in the lower edges, which are inserted in corresponding` holes in the looring', and'are connected to y the side boards on top by nutted rods, which pass through holes e v in the hook and loop-straps,

-and through the cleatsvaf'oresaid.

I am aware that it is-no novelty to apply the multiplying power of pulleys to the long arm ofa lever; but I am not aware that any lever with Wide'bearings arranged at and round its foot for changeable fulcrums and operated rela tively, as mine is,'has ever before been used for any purpose analogous to mine, for it is the peculiar arrangement ofthe 'parts composing the lever that enables me to apply it advantageously to a twowheel cart and to pull several grubs at once by suspending from the girt g any required number of separate chains. As the hind end ofthe cart is not rigid, the broad base ofthe fulcra finds always a solid bearing on the ground, however uneven it may be.

I do not claim the mode herein described ot' con vertin g my cartcinto a dra-y, nor vice versa; neither do I claim any combination or adaptation o't' parts for' anyother change of legitimate use than for the 'extraction of stumps or grubs;l 

